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Where the Red Fern Grows


Chapters 1-5
A.1. In the beginning, why was Billy planning on running away? What changed his mind?
A.2. What did Billy find that changed his life?
A.3. Describe the relationship between Billy and his grandpa. Be specific and write in a sentence. Just saying it was good is not enough.
A4. What was Billy's plan for getting his dogs? List some of the things Billy did to get the fifty dollars he needed.
A.5. How would you describe Billy? List five adjectives that describe him. Give an example from the story to prove he does possess that
quality.
A.6. How does Billy get to the town where the dogs are? What made his journey difficult?

Chapter 6 - 10
B.1 Why does Billy's mother want to move the family to town.
B.2. Why does Billy need a coonskin?
B.3. What is Papa's view on killing the raccoon and sportsmanship?
B.4. Describe the raccoon's tricks on Billy's first night of coon hunting.
B.5. What are Billy's thoughts as he sees where his dogs have treed their first coon?
B.6. Discuss how Billy's faith in God gave him the strength to complete his task.
B.7. What did Billy do with the money he earned from hunting coons? What does this tell you about Billy?

Chapters 11 - 15
C.1. What trick did the coon play on Old Dan and Little Ann that resulted in Little Ann almost drowning?
C.2. When Billy is totally frustrated and doesn't know how to save Little Ann, what does he do?
C.3. Describe how Billy saves Little Ann.
C.4.Describe Rubin and Rainie.
C.5. What was the bet Billy made with the Pritchard's?
C.6. What happened to Rubin? How did it happen?
C.7.What are some reasons Grandpa would want Billy to enter the contest?
C.8. What are some reasons Grandpa would want Billy to enter the contest?





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number.gifNumber The Stars By: Lois Lowry
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Chapter 1
  • Vocabulary you need to know: halte - German word for stop; rucksack - a kind of backpack; Resistance - an organized underground movement in a country fighting against a foreign occupying power
  • Why is Kirsti not afraid of the soldiers? Kristi is not afraid of the soldiers because she is only 5 and they have always been there her whole life she can remember. They haven't been there her whole life, but a good portion of it. Do you think she recogizes that they could hurt her.
  • How would you have felt if you had been Annemarie when the soldiers spoke to her? Why? I would have felt very frightened, because they spoke harshly, where very large, and almost never moved from their position on the street corners.


Chapter 2
  • Do you think King Christian did the right thing when he surrendered to the Nazis?Why? I think he did the right thing seeing that his country would have been killed by the Germans having so little people, and there was no other way then to die because of their size.
  • Would you be willing to die to protect the leader of your country? Why? Yes, I would rather die and save him then him get killed or hurt because then he could still lead and protect my family.
  • What happened to Annemarie's older sister Lise? She died in an accident shortly before she got married.
  • How has Annemarie's family changed after the death of Lise? They became sad and Peter became serious and always in a hurry.


Chapter 3
  • Annemarie believes that ordinary people like her don't have to be courageous. Do you agree with this idea? No, I don't because you need courage to stand up against the soldiers, and do the right thing.
  • What religion do the Rosens practice? They practice Judaism.
  • Predict what you think will happen next in the story. I think the soldiers are going to start bothering all the Jews.


Chapter 4
  • What are the answers to the questions that are the titles of the first three chapters?
      1. Why are you running? Annemarie, Ellen, Kristi, were running to practice for the races at school every Friday.
      2. Who is the man who rides past? King Christian X is the person that rides his horse through town in the mornings.
      3. Where is Mrs. Hirsch? Mrs. Hirsch is some where protecting herself from the Germans because she is Jewish.
  • The title of this chapter is "It Will Be a Long Night." Why was it a long night? It was a long night because the soldiers could be coming at any time to get the Jews and so some of them stayed up all night talking.
  • Why does Ellen spend the night with Annemarie? Ellen spends the night with Annemarie because they were pretending to be Annemarie's sister so the Nazis wouldn't arrest her.


Chapter 5
  • Vocabulary: Star of David – a six pointed star; a symbol of Judaism
  • Why do the soldiers come to the Johansen’s apartment? They came because they were looking for the Rosens.
  • What do you think they expected to find? I think they expected to find all the Rosens hiding there.
  • Why does Annemarie tear the necklace from Ellen’s neck? Annemarie tears the necklace because it is a Star of David and the soldiers would know she was Jewish and arrest her.
  • When Papa tore the pictures from his photo album, what was he trying to prove? He was trying to prove that Ellen was his child.
  • Do you think Annemarie is brave? Yes, because she tore the necklace and held it in her hand a she could of been accused of being Jewish.
  • Why does Mama want to travel to Uncle Henrik’s house alone? She wants to travel to Uncle Henrik's house alone so the soldiers don't suspect anything.
  • What are Papa and Uncle Henrik really talking about when they talk about “cigarettes”? They were talking about bringing a Jew to Uncle Henrik.


Chapter 6
  • For what reason is Uncle Henrik’s home a good place to take a Jewish refugee? His home is a good place because it is out in the middle of nowhere where you can't be found.
  • Describe how you felt as you read this chapter. I felt very interested ikn hearing what was coming up next.
  • Why are Mama and Annemarie frightened when Kirsti decides to talk to the soldiers on the train? They were frightened because they thought Kirsti would say something to make the soldiers think Ellen is Jewish.
  • What do you think the soldiers expected Kirsti to say? I think they expected her to say something about the Jewish New Year.


Chapter 7
  • How do Ellen and Annemarie feel as they explore Gilleleje? The children feel very happy, excited to run through all the grasses, and to see the country across the water.
  • Why is this visit different for Annemarie than other times she visited Uncle Henrik? It is different because the adults are usually downstairs laughing when the kids go upstairs for bed and they don't laugh that night.
  • Describe Uncle Henrik and Mama’s relationship. Their relationship is very strong, seeing that Mama had missed him, and was going to come back and live there to help her brother with all the chores.


Chapter 8
  • What two statements does Uncle Henrik make that worry or puzzle Annemarie? Two statements are "the weather is right" said by mama, and "I will be going back to the boat tonight after supper" said by Uncle Henrik.
  • Do you agree with Annemarie that Great-aunt Birte doesn’t exist? Yes I agree because they weren't sad, they had never heard of a relative named that, and had not made a phone call to Copenhagen
  • What do you think Uncle Henrik means by “Tomorrow will be a day for fishing”? I think they are going to smuggle someone to Denmark across the water the next day.


Chapter 9
  • Who do you think the ‘mourners” are? The mourners I think are Jews that are going to smuggle out of the country.
  • How does Uncle Hunrik explain to Annemarie why he and Mama lied to her about Great –aunt Birte? She explained to Annemarie why they lied so that she would keep trusting her.
  • Find a line from this chapter that shows Annemarie is maturing. I could tell Ellen that it isn't true, that there is no Great Aunt Brite. I could take her aside and whisper the secret to her so that she wouldn't have to feel sad. But she didn't. She understood that she was protecting Ellen just like her mother had.


Chapter 10
  • Vocabulary: typhus - a very infectious and deadly disease
  • What familiar phrase is in the psalm that Peter reads to the “mourners”? "He who numbers the stars one by one" That us the title of the book.
  • How do you think most of the people at Uncle Henrik’s house felt during the wake? They were scared and wondering if they would be safe.
  • How does Mama keep the soldier from opening the casket? She says that her aunt had died of typhus and the doctor said there might still be germs in the casket.
  • Reread the psalm and Annemarie’s reaction to the reading of it. What do you think is the significance of the title of this book? Annemarie didn't know the psalm but she knew bad things were happening. The psalm talks about God gathering the Jews in a good way and the Nazis are gathering them in a bad way to torment them.


Chapter 11
  • What is in the casket? There are blankets and other folded articles of clothing are in the casket.
  • Why did Peter insist upon giving the baby some medicine? They wanted to give the baby medicine because they don't want the baby to cry.
  • One possible theme for this novel is that it is easier for people to be brave if they do not know everything. Use an incident that happened in this novel to prove this. When Peter gave the important packet to Mrs. Rosin and didn't tell him what it was.
  • Find a section of this chapter that shows Annemarie no longer thinks of herself as the carefree child she once was. When Annemarie saw Ellen take that worn jacket she realized you have to do what you got to do to stay safe.


Chapter 12
  • Do you think Annemarie will meet any soldiers on the way to Uncle Henrik’s boat? That is not in this Chapter.Annemarie didn't go to the boat her mother and the Rosens went to the boat. Sorry, when I was editing the question pages, they got moved around and misplaced.
  • What observations about waiting does Annemarie make in this chapter? She said it was harder for the ones that were waiting less danger, more fear.
  • Why does Annemarie worry about her mother’s safety? She wonders because her mother is so late from taking the Rosens to the boat.
I am really impressed by your layout, Peter. Maybe the next time, I will just ask you to layout the pages.

Chapter 13
  • Why does Annemarie volunteer to take the packet to Uncle Henrik? She volunteers thinking that it might be important to the journey, and it may not succeed without it. Peter also said it was very important, and to give it to Uncle Henrik.
  • Why doesn’t Mama tell Annemarie what is in the basket? She doesn't tell what is in the basket because it helps you to stay safe, by knowing only what you have too know, if you are asked a question you can not know, and not say too much.


Chapter 14
  • There is a reference to the story of Little Red Riding Hood in this chapter. Which characters from story are like Red Riding Hood and the wolf? Annemarie was like Little Red Riding Hood and the soldiers and their dogs are like the wolves.
  • In this chapter we see that Annemarie is confronted with reality and begins to less of a child. What is the reality she confronts? The reality she faces is that she is telling her a children's story to keep herself from thinking about the danger she is in while taking the packet to Uncle Henrik.


Chapter 15
  • What is your reaction to how the soldiers treated Annemarie? I think the soliders just should of left her alone, and not take some of her food, or be so harsh by calling her and idiot.
  • List three times when the German soldiers are rude to Annemarie. When they called her a idiot girl, when they said they were glad they didn't sow flowers onto the handkerchief, and when they were surprised for her to not have meat.
  • Why does Annemarie act like Kirsti? She acts like Kirsti because she isn't very scared, and can have some pretty good ideas for making things up.
  • Did anything Uncle Henrik tell Annemarie surprise you? What?


Chapter 16
  • How does Uncle Henrik define “brave” to Annemarie? Based on this definition, is Annnemarie be considered brave? Brave is not thinking about danger. Annemarie is not brave because she was always thinking of what if something happened.
  • What secret information does Uncle Henrik share with Annemarie about the Rosens? That they were hiding below Uncle Henrik's boat, and the handkerchief kept the dogs from smelling them.
  • Describe something funny that happens in this chapter. God of thunder, the cat falls into the milk pail.


Chapter 17
  • This chapter takes place two years later after the war. How do the Danish people include their Jewish neighbors in the celebration? They put flags in their windows and kept their houses prepared for their return.
  • How did Peter die? How did Lise really die? Peter was shot. Lise was chased by Nazis and eventually run down by their car.
  • Where does Annemarie hide Ellen’s Star of David necklace? She hid it in Lise's yellow engagement dress.


Afterward
  • List three incidents in the story that were actual historical events.
    1. The Nazis really did invade Denmark and kill the Jews.
    2. The Danes really did sink their ships so the Germans couldn't take them.
    3. King Christian X was the king back then during all this.



Very well done, Peter!

A


The end!!!